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.f 1 o.. `KMF Fn N, 0F wo neueren, {MASSAG nos ETTS.. t l Lettera1:at'e'nft-lifo.l 67,882, dated August 20, 11867.l i t Be Vit knowntirati-I, L. G. KNIFFEN, "of the city and county ofvWorcester, and Stateof Massachusetts, haue invented certain new nndnleful ImprovementsinHcrvestors, of which the following is o full, cleniyanrl'exnctdescription, reference boing had tol the accompanying drawings, whichmake `purtci' thisspecificution, :and in Figure 1 represents nplan ortop view of a harvester embracing my,improvements,tl1 e black linesshowing the pai-.ts as 'arranged vfor mowing, while the red lines showthem as arranged for reaping.

" Figure 2 represents a view4 in elevation of one side of the same, withthe inner driving-wheel and main.

gear-wheel removed. The blacklincs show"thefingerfbeamresting on theground, as in iig. 1 the blue lines show the linger-beam raised to p-assobstructions;` while the red lines in front-ofthe main axles showthe lingerbeam both raised and tilted for convenience of transportationthe red lines behind thefmain axle show the reaperuttachmennas iniig. 1. t v

Figure isafver ronghthe main axle. Figure4 showsthe ail th liargi'atchets. e Figure 5, .a ver'ticellQransyersefsction through thecoupling-arm' at the linelazfz of figlll, and figure-16 n dingnnicf thegesring, the'rdines'fepresentlng thelpitc'lr'line' oiflh'e teelzf,v

` My invention relates to that class of two-wheeled hxngejointharvesters which cnnjbe converted from mowers into renpers, and fromfront-cut to rear-cut n1 uchines`,-or viceversa, and more especiallytomachnes in which the mainframe, the gearing, and the driver's seat areall maintained lin one relative position by s rigidtongne or shafts,while the `cuttingnpparutusis so connected to the mainframe, bycoupling-arms, as freely to rise and` fall to conform to the'undulationsof the ground over which it is drawn.

geur; second, in nnovel mode of varying the speed of the cutters. Y

`In the accompanying drawings, which exemplify one convenient mode ofcarrying out myinvention, two driving und supporting-wheels, AAf, ureshown as turning loosely on the mainaxle B, to which suitable buckingratchets', a, iigs; 3 and 4, are firmly secured, so asto turn with thenxle. Spring-puwls a on the wheels take into these'rntchets and turn theaxle when'movingforwnrd, but slip over them without turning the nxle, inthe usual wny, when backing. The moingearwhcel C'isindependent of' the'driving-wheeland plays loosely on lthe axle, being provided with aspring-backing ratchet, c, figs; 1, 3, and 6, which permits the axle toturn baclr- "The improvement herein claimed consists, first, in a nov'elmode of throwing the mechanism into nnil out of v 'wax-ds, but whichturns with it when moving forwards. This wheel can be thrown out ofgear, when desired, by means of n hand-lever, c, moving in'an eccentricslot, in the tubular b ed-pieceD, which eucloses the axle.

It will be seen that the ends o f the wheel-hubs and bed-picceabntagainst euch other, and thus render thc use of collars unnecessary.` Atongue, E, is attached to the bed-piece, and supports-a iframe, F, whichcarries the` lifting devices, and'driver's and 'rakcrs seats. The maingear-wheel C drivesia corresponding spur-pinion, G, on

1 a counter-shaft, g mounted in brackets d projecting from the bed-peceD, nud carrying two spur-wheels H H.

, These wheels are mounted loosely on the counter-shaft, and can bealternately thrown'into or out of g'ear by a slidingclutch 4andfeather-,11, operated by a'hond-lever, h'. They gear' into correspondingpinions, I I', on the crank-shaft i, mounted in the same brackets, so as`to rotate parallel to the main axle. The wheel is of n diameter greaterthan its fellow, while the correspondingpinion' Al: isv of less diameterthan its fellow, so thnt by t changing fromone eet to the other thespeed of thecutters can he increased or diminished at pleasu1 e,to adaptthe machine tothe change from a reuper to a mower, or vice versa."Acoupling-s'rm, J, is'pivotcd'to the bracket 'd,` in`line with thecrank-shaft and is curved in the peculiar form shown' in thc drawings.The couplingarm is braced by a diagonal lever, K', pi'voted to adown-hanger, j, `sbecured'to the hed-'piece D. The finger-beam K ispivoted to the coupling-arm by means of n-shoc, L, formcdof the peculiarshapl,` shown in the drawings, and

having n loop, l, to it on a corresponding stud, k, onV thecoupling-arm, and a yoke or fork, l',to encircle the 1. tnbularpartlc ofthe coupling-nrw, through which the pitmanM passes. The f orkvis claspedupon thecoupling arm bye how-spring, F, which slips into loops on theyolc, and is held by square shoulders on its-ends, asclearly shown infigs. land 5. By this means the linger-beam and coupling-arm are firmlyconnected, so as 'to resist lateral strains, while the finger-beam isfree to swing round the coupling-arm, to allow'either end to rise orfull sust or lowered by means of a bell-crank lever, N, pivoted 'to ployvertically in s socket, O, attached' to the inner front corner of theframe. The toe of this lever is connected to the finger-boem by a cordor chain, n. A

swinging-ratchet, n', is likewise hung to this toe by itsupper end, sons to pass through a loop in the bracket. I,

As the lever rises theratchet rises endwise through its loop, und itsgruvityrcauses it to swing forward, so thetv when the lever is releesedth'e'teeth nbutagainst the front part of the loop and prevent thedescent of the lingerbenm. The ratchet is released from the loop by thefoot of the driver. The hand-lever N; which Works tho lifting-lever, isnot permanently attached thereto, butvis pivoted conceutrieally with it,and works against s shoulder,v `o,'on it, so that by first moving theIhund-lever laterally u little wey it cs-n hevibrated without a''ectingthe lifting device. llhe above-described device lift's the finger-beamhorizontally only; In order, however, to

lift its outer` end sons to fold itup agninst the mainframe, I attneh anerm, P, to the shoe L, in reary of but parallel to the iinger-besm, undconnect said rod byul linlgp, to s'. curved rockingllever, P', vibratingon the Asume. pivot ss the hand-lever N', and moving both concentricullyand parallel therewith. The hund-,lever N ebuts uguinst e shoulder, o',on lthis rocking-lever, similar to that en the lifting-lever, und canthus be mede to act'upon it st pleasure. By moving this lever' backwardthe outer end of the arm P is depressed, while' the divider end of thefinger-beam is correspondingly elevated, the'ooupling-erm Jserving asafulcrum. I'em thus enabled to lift the outer end of the finger-beam andto reise it horizontally by the use of a single lever. The horses areattached to e double-tree or evener, R, which is connected by s chaim'r,to the bruce-rod'K-, and slides in a loop, e, underneath the tongue. 'Bythis device the pull of the team tendsto lift the cutting appevrntus andthus diminish its pressure upon the ground. By adjusting the rear end ofthe chain higher or lower, j which cnn readily be done by n short poston the bruce-bar, the angle of the draught, und consequently theliftingstrain exerted, can be varied at pleasure. The drivers seat S consistsof a frame, s, to which'a series of redis) 'ribs or springs, sl, issecured. These springs are curved over the back of the seat', as shownin the drawings.

By this means each spring is iudependent,and yields as the strainy isthrown uponit, thus preventing shocks and jars to thedriver. In order tosecure s sent capable of yielding vertically, and yet prevent too greeta beeltward 'and forward movement, I mount it on a u-shaped spring, S',heving its open end to the rear, and sti'en it by an s-shsped spring,s", the upper end of which conforms to the shape of the supportingspring, iu order to stitlen it, while its lower end entends forward andrs bolted to the frame. By this mode of construction pressuroisexertedlongitudinally, instead of transversely to the spring, and greaterstiffness is attained.v The above description applies to my improvedmachine as adapted for mowing.

To'chungefrom nmower to n reaper, the lifting, tilting, unddrawing-cords n, und r, are detuchedfrom the shoe und bruce-'bnrrespectively. The pitman is also disconnected from the bell-crank, andthe bow-spring l F'withdrawn from its loops. The shoe L, with thecutting apparatus, Eto., is then removed. The coupling-arm l undbrace-bur ere then'swung round their pivots, (passing under the frnme,)so es to project in rear of the main axle, as shown in rod lines infige.1 .und 2. A cuttingapparatus and platform suitable for reaping are thenattached. In this instance it will be seen that the shoe L has vitsparts reversed to mstch the coupling-erm, the yoke being in front andthe loop in the rear.

The ruker rides upon e sont, T, projecting behind the axle, und sopivoted as to swing horizontally in the arc of a circle towards and fromthe platform. The rehn rides with his feet upon the coupling-armaudbreee bur, end drawsthe grain oti with a rake, his side being towardsthe driver.

By using e front-cut machine the side draught is diminished, the driverhas s bettettvievr of the cutters, and is not liable to be thrown uponthem and injured; while by changing to a. rear-cut, while reaping, I amenabled to discharge the'guvei behind and between the driving-wheels,end out of the path of the-teem in cutting the next swath, by moving itthe leest prnlcti'cable distance, and also lnnintuinthe pr'operbalsnce'of the machine..

The divider side 4 sustained bythe vusuel grain-wheel, while thegeni-lng side is upheld by e spring-catch on the frame, which takes intoa suitable datent on the coupling-arm. Both wheel and deteut may be medecapable of adjustment, so es to set the plstform at any requiredelevation.

What I clairn'herein as my invention, und desire to secure by' LettersPatent, is

1. The comhiuiition, substantially ns described,lwith the main axle, ofthe mein' gesr-wheel C, the spring:

the mechanism into and out of geur.

2. The combination, as described, of the mein geur-wheel, thecounter-shaft, carrying gears of different ratchet c, the ecoentricellyslotted tubulnr bed-pieoeD, und the shipping-lever c', for the purposeofthroivng sizes, und u. shipping-Ievex-,with the crunk-shaft und itspinions, ell the' oralesv being arranged with their'. axes v parsllcl toeachother, for the purpose of changing the speed to ndnpt the machine toeither reaping or mowing.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subseribed'my neme.

Witnesses: v

Geo. A. KrMsALr., ,'Wrr. S. Blousons.

